The present invention relates to an arrangement for transmitting data, signals and/or energy, and more particularly to a method and arrangement for transmission from stationary parts in or on metal-forming machines, such as presses and/or stamping machines, or the environment to at least one sliding table and/or a feeding device for blanks and/or the transfer device of a metal-forming machine.
It is known from practice to carry out the supply of electric energy and the control-related coupling of moving machine parts and/or machine units on metal-forming machines by cables and control lines which, for example, are laid in trailing cables or are suspended as cable pendulums.
For transmitting energy to moving machine parts and/or machine units, sliding contacts are also used.
If the coupling to the moving machine unit or the machine part, for example, a sliding table and/or the transfer device of the metal-forming machine and/or a feeding or moving device for blanks is required only temporarily or in defined unchanged positions, it is carried out by contacting plug-type connections or a face contacting. Since the moving machine parts and/or machine units are often equipped with a plurality of electric sensors or actuators which, on the one hand, require a feeding of electric energy and, on the other hand, require a coupling of the electric input and output signals to the machine control, the known devices for transmitting electric energy and for the control-related coupling have many disadvantages.
These disadvantages include the wear of cables, of cable drag chains as well as of the contacts on slip rings or on the face contacting or on similar contacting connection devices.
This results in the necessity of a preventive exchange of the mentioned devices which results in relatively high maintenance and control expenditures and in a reduction of the availability of the metal-forming machines.
Another disadvantage of the known arrangements is the requirement of a mechanical precise positioning and guiding of the docking devices which receive the connectors.
Furthermore, the required installation space for the described arrangements is relatively large so that the metal-forming machine, on the whole, has to have dimensions which are larger than those which would actually be required.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for transmitting data, signals and energy on the sliding table and/or the transfer device of a metal-forming machine which does not have the above-mentioned disadvantages; in particular, which is free of wear and results in relatively low maintenance and control expenditures.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by non-contact transmission of data, signals and/or energy.
Because of the no-contact transmission to the above-mentioned moving machine parts and/or machine units, there is no wear of cables and/or cable guiding devices, such as cable drag chains, the maintenance expenditures are clearly reduced, and it is not necessary to carry out a preventive exchange of the transmission devices so that the method according to the present invention is reasonable with respect to cost.
An arrangement for implementing the novel method includes a stationary device and a movable device which is configured to complement the stationary device, the stationary device comprising at least one transmitter, a first coupler, a coupling loop and a first antenna, and the movable device comprising at least one second transmitter and a second antenna, wherein at least one of the stationary device and the movable device is mounted on base plates, one base plate being mounted on a machine part or the environment, and the other base plate being mounted on a component linearly displaceable relative to the first base plate.
By mounting the stationary device and/or the movable device on base plates, the stationary device as well as the movable device may be prefabricated as an entire subassembly and may then be mounted at a desired point on the metal-forming machine.